The Honorary Gryffindor and The Shadow of Hufflepuff
by Mobility
Summary: Albus Potter and Reggie Black have been alone for their first four years at Hogwarts but through a chance of fate, they meet one another: a girl forbidden to interact and a boy outcasted for his placement; each growing up and facing challenges and uncovering secrets about the school, their histories, and themselves. Now they may not have to do it alone.


ALBUS

"Come on Alby, we're going to be late!" Lily called out as the clock chimed eleven in the train station. Albus lagged behind, his shoes slapping unnecessarily against the pavement.

He felt a hand on his back, ushering him forward. His mother's voice breathed, "Walk faster Alby. You don't want to be late."

_Who cares?_ He found himself thinking. Finally, Lily took his hand and dragged him through the wall between platforms 9 and 10. Their parents followed quickly.

"Bye Mum! Bye Dad!" Lily shouted down the platform as she rushed off, spotting Lucy.

"Seeya." Albus tried to shrug off his parents when he was pulled back by the neck of his shirt.

"Not so fast." Mr. Potter spun his son around gently. With one hand on his shoulder, their green eyes met. Mr. Potter's swirled with a seriousness Albus couldn't help but look at. "Can you do something for me, son?"

As Albus rolled his eyes, they landed briefly on his father's scar. Albus inhaled sharply, knowing that that scar was the reason for his misery. His father couldn't help it; it wasn't his fault. Nevertheless, Albus blamed him. And his scar.

"Can you try this year? Try to have a good year? Try out for the Quidditch team. Join the Gobstones club. Get into a bit of trouble. Good trouble. Just…do something, please. Your mother, she's worried about you, and frankly, son, so am I. So could you please, try?" Mr. Potter gave his son a pat on the shoulder.

Albus shrugged it off, muttered, "Whatever"and walked onto the train. He quickly found Rose who looked at him peculiarly. "What?"

"Nothing." She answered honestly. They slid into an empty compartment and Rose filled the silence, as she did most of the time. It was easier when they were at home, hanging out together without the social pressures of the school. He talked more but the atmosphere of Hogwarts had a hold of his tongue. Rose constantly reminded him that it didn't matter what house everyone was in—it wasn't just her, it was everyone, all the time—and sometimes when he was with her, he believed her. Rose didn't see the dividing lines between students and it was refreshing, yet she was one of the few—for this reason, she was his favorite cousin. Even his other cousins and friends, the ones he'd grown up with, began to treat him differently when he wasn't sorted correctly. And it wasn't like he was sorted into one of the tolerable houses either, oh no, he had to be stuck with the enemy and thus by association, he was the enemy.

After the train had started up and sailed at a consistent pace, Rose and he started up a Gobstones tournament. They were tied, a game apiece, when their compartment door slid open.

"There you two are!" exclaimed Hugo. "We've been looking for you guys. Come on, we're in a compartment down the hallway." Hugo stood in the doorway as Rose began to gather her stuff. Albus remained sitting.

"Don't tell me you're going to stay here?" Rose scolded.

"I was thinking about it." replied Albus gloomily.

"I don't think so." Rose hoisted him up and out of his seat. "Come on."

So Albus was dragged down the hall and flung into a compartment, littered with candy wrappers, and filled with his familial friends: Damien, Maddy, who was unsurprisingly on Damien's lap—typical—Faith and others. Faith left for a minute and came back with more sweets, much to Rose's confusion. Nevertheless, they chatted and reminisced as if they hadn't just seen each other thirty minutes before. Albus glanced at the window, trying—like his father asked—to engage in conversation every so often, but the foreboding loneness swallowed his thoughts, dragging him into his yearly slump earlier than usual.

REGGIE

"Here is your compartment." The conductor had led Reggie to a tiny compartment at the very back of the train, past the luggage compartments and candy storage. The door peeled open to reveal a musty pair of seats with a broken overhead rack and a window tattooed in grime. Reggie sighed. She'd lived in worse and this was only temporary.

"Can I ask you something?" said Reggie as she hauled her trunk into the compartment, lifting it onto the seat. A cloud of dirt burst into the air, causing Reggie and the conductor to cough.

Once the pair had regained control of their breath, the conductor answered, "Yes miss?"

"If I'm supposed to integrate with the other students, you know, act normal, how is this helping?"

"I couldn't tell you, miss." Responded the conductor cordially. "I was just given strict instructions to escort you to this particular compartment and inform you that you are to stay here for the remainder of the train ride until collected. Is that understood?"

"Yep." Reggie gave up trying to get any other information out of this unhelpful man. The conductor turned to leave when Reggie said, "Thank you."Just because he wasn't helpful didn't mean she had an excuse to be rude.

The conductor tipped his hat. "Miss."And he disappeared.

Reggie nestled into her corner of the train and tried to decipher something outside the window. Worries flooded her mind of the year ahead. She was lucky to even be a part of this world. Her dreams were coming true, kind of. If only she could actually complete a spell correctly, and not have to isolate herself so much from the other students. She would at least be with other students in some capacity when this stupid train ride was over. But some part of the world was better than no part, right?

The train jolted to a start, rattling her a bit. But when it settled into a smooth, lullaby-like rhythm, Reggie closed her eyes in an attempt to rush to the end of this lonely ride.

"Miss?"

The voice pulled Reggie out of a dreamless nap. She noticed the train had stopped although her body still felt like it was moving. She pushed herself out of the slump position she'd maneuvered her body into. Standing in the door was the conductor as if he'd never moved.

Reggie flashed him a smile. "I'll be right out."

The conductor tipped his hat again and left Reggie's view. She gathered her stuff and squeezed her way out of the compartment and off the train. A small chill propelled her forward and she wrapped her cloak tighter around her shoulders. The smell of Hogwarts wafted through her nose and she knew she was home.

After being escorted to a solitary carriage and driven up to the castle, Reggie snaked her way into the mob of students flooding through the front doors, acting as if she'd been there the whole time.

As she sat down at the Hufflepuff table, she tried to make eye contact with some people but no one seemed to notice her. This was typical. She was practically invisible and she was supposed to keep it that way. Fighting against the pang in her stomach to say something to someone, Reggie focused on the sorting and the headmistress' speech. When the food appeared, she dived right in with the rest of the school.

Halfway through her meal, she was nearly smacked the face with a flying note, headed in the direction of the Gryffindor table. She had to duck out of the way, shrinking in her seat. One of her long brown curls collided with the whipped cream on her pie, soaking the strand in a sticky white. Reggie grabbed a napkin and tried to wipe it off as best as she could.

In between the strands of her hair, Reggie noticed another food malfunction. A Ravenclaw boy jumped out of his seat. "Seriously?!" He shouted louder than intended. His friends tried to settle him down but he left the Great Hall in a huff.

For an odd reason, Reggie felt the urge to jump up and help him. She was nearly standing when she spotted a small newly-sorted girl following behind him. Reggie plopped herself back down. _He'll be fine. He has his little sister to help him out_. So Reggie tied her hair back into a pony tail and finished her meal.

As Reggie was scooping up the last bits of her apple pie, another note rocketed past her ear. She quickly leaned to the left and cross-checked the kid sitting next to her. He nearly fell off the bench and Reggie suppressed a girlish squeal.

"I'm so sorry!" said Reggie, dropping her fork to hoist the kid back up onto the bench.

"That's okay." He responded. He looked her in the eye—he looked at her!—and Reggie immediately noticed the flecks of gold swirling in the midst of blue. His eyes were very striking.

He had high cheekbones for a male and ginger hair that seemed to flop to one side with a natural ease.

"I was trying to avoid a note." Reggie pointed pointlessly, as the note was now gone.

The boy chuckled. "They are always flying around this time of year."

Speak of the devil, a second note pierced the air between the pair and slid right under the boy's nose so fast, if this were a Muggle cartoon, would have left a mustache-shaped cloud in its wake. There was a beat before Reggie and the boy erupted into laughter.

"Hey," The boy cut off the laughter. "I haven't seen you around before. Are you a first-year?"

Reggie tried not to be insulted as she answered, "No. Fifth."

The boy's eyebrows shot up. "Fifth? Really?"

"Do I really look as young as a first year?"

"No!" The boy recoiled. "It's just…I'm a fifth year and I honestly never seen you before."

Reggie shrugged and supplied a bit of truth. "I'm good at being invisible."

"Apparently." He smiled. It was truly a dashing smile, one that seemed to make his skin light up. "I'm Louis. Louis Weasley."

Reggie paused a moment before answering. "Reggie Black." She took his hand and managed to smile back.

Louis was taken aback at the dropping of her last name but didn't voice his surprise. Instead, the two continued chatting, Reggie still maintaining her reserved manner, throughout the rest of the meal. They walked each other down to the common room and finally parted ways. Reggie settled into her bed, deciding it was a very productive day indeed.

ALBUS

Albus followed his friends out of the compartment and out onto the platform. A flare of irritation pulsed through his veins as he noticed Damien holding on to Maddy's hand unnecessarily. _Who the hell does he think he is?_

But Albus bit back the feeling. Why was he suddenly so defensive of Maddy? Sure, they'd grown up together, with their parents being best friends and all, but it wasn't like she was Lily, his sister, or Rose, his cousin. She wasn't family. And he wasn't hurting her. Why did he care? Nonetheless, he kept an eye on Damien the whole ride up to the castle.

Albus braced himself for what was to come. Now was the time where they went their separate ways. He had waited until the last moment to put on his robes, knowing the minute he did, he marked himself as different. And he would be marked as so for the rest of the year.

When the doors to the Great Hall loomed ahead, Rose stopped Albus in his tracks by standing directly in front of him. "I just want you to know that I love you no matter what. And that I feel that this year is going to be your year." She said. Then she wrapped him into a huge hug. "I just know it."

At first, Albus stiffened, resisting his cousin's encouragement. But instead, her softened to her caring touch and wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks Rose."

They released one another and walked into the new year. Albus took his usual seat at the end of the Slytherin table and curled into himself, hunching his shoulders and hardening his eyes, the universal signal for "Don't mess with me". He closed himself off from the chatter and the social interactions until something halfway through the meal caught his eye.

Malfoy whizzed a note over to Faith, it smacking her in the face. Now this could have been an accident and something inside Albus affirmed that it was but another something sparked an idea in Albus' mind. He saw Faith quickly scribbling an answer, preparing to send it back. It wouldn't be hard to just change the direction of the note and sent it flying his way. It would be fun to irritate Malfoy; it was practically in his blood to do so. But that would involve being involved, something Albus had sworn that he wasn't going to do during his time at Hogwarts. He'd survived so far, being an isolationist, but hadn't his father just asked him to try? And hadn't Rose told him she thought this was his year? This could be a start, a step in some direction. At least he was moving forward.

So, timing his aim perfectly, when Faith sent off the note to Malfoy, Albus beckoned it with the slightest movement of his finger. The note complied and zoomed into his hand. Albus tucked it into his pocket, slyly.

Albus couldn't hide the smirk that spread across his lips as he caught sight of Malfoy's stunned face as Faith's note swerved. Faith caught on quickly though and sent another note flying Malfoy's way.

Albus would have intercepted this note as well but a note directed to him fluttered beside his right hand with such grace, there was only one person this could be from. He glanced up at Maddy who was glaring at him—well, as much as Maddy could glare. Her face was too round, too baby-like, too innocent, to properly glare. He broke eye contact and skimmed the note in his hand:

_Why did you take Faith and Scorpius' note? It wasn't very nice Alby._

Albus scoffed. She was treating him like a child, like his mother had a tendency to do. _All I was doing was having a bit of fun with Malfoy. That isn't allowed, huh? What does she care anyway?_ He crumpled up the note and threw it into a second-year's cup, splashing pumpkin juice on the innocent bystander.

He shot another glance at Maddy but she was too consumed in Damien to notice. The nerve of that kid. And how could Maddy hang over him like that? It was disgusting. Albus lost his appetite and shoved his plate across the table, it nearly falling off the other end. He stood and prepared to leave.

Before doing so, Albus completed a quick survey of the room, assuring that his family was safe. This was a habit of his that he'd acquired from James and Teddy. It was innate, looking out for one's family especially when one's family was so huge.

Lily, Lucy and Hugo were chatting playfully with their friends at the Gryffindor table. Molly and Roxanne where there as well. Rose was with Lysander at the Ravenclaw table. Dominique was with her new boyfriend—she went through so many he couldn't keep track of them all—and he spotted Louis talking to some Hufflepuff girl he didn't recognize. Satisfied, Albus withdrew from the Great Hall, but not without one last look at Faith, Maddy and Damien.

Secretly, Albus pulled his wand out from his pocket and flicked it behind him causing Damien's pudding to explode everywhere. He added a bit of smoke and fire, so that they could transfer the blame later. As such, he exited unnoticed as Maddy and Faith's squeals echoed in the hall.

REGGIE

The next morning Reggie's eyes fluttered open. Cracks echoed in the air as she leaned her neck to each side, waking up her body. She shook out her limbs and jumped out of bed, excited to greet the new day. She wore a simple black tank top with a white button up and flare jeans. She let her hair fall into its natural curl and wrapped her robes around her shoulders. She grinned a toothless smile in the reflection of the window before heading downstairs for breakfast.

Breakfast was uneventful, although she did see Louis enter and sit at the other end of the table with a couple of his friends. They exchanged a wave but that was all, so Reggie continued trying to prepare herself for the upcoming day. First was Defense Against the Dark Arts and while Professor Rumding knew she was complete rubbish, he still picked on her nearly every class. She was not looking forward to the humiliation today.

Nonetheless, she gathered up her courage, chugged the last bit of her orange juice and waltzed to the assigned classroom.

Many of the seats were already filled and Professor Rumding was nowhere to be found. Reggie settled into a desk at the back near the window. Her favorite seat, one perfect for day dreaming, was already occupied by a tall blonde boy with a slender figure and clean complexion. He looked so deep in thought, he almost looked to be in pain.

"The keys are a metaphor." He mumbled.

"Pardon?" said Reggie, unsure if he was addressing her. She gave the boy a curious look as a flurry of students burst through the door, rushing to be on time. Professor Rumding was not a fan of tardiness.

"If you're late," He said. "You're dead."

Professor Karl Rumding was an ex-auror, one of the best—according to himself—and been in the business since long before any of them were born. He'd fought more dark wizards that they could count and knew more spells than what was contained in the library. This vast knowledge made him an excellent Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Problem was, he could be a real a prat.

Reggie inhaled and exhaled deeply as the old man with round crack glasses, cropped grey hair and a cane that doubled as his sword, walked through the door. He tapped the handle behind him, locking any late-comers out of the room, sentencing them to their deaths.

The boy mumbled something inaudible as Professor Rumding began the lesson. "Today, we will be practicing protective spells against hexes. Specifically, protego. Pro-tay-go. Watch me closely as I demonstrate. Ms. Weasley."

Rose's head snapped up. "Yes Professor?"

"Hit me."

"With what?"

"A hex, child. Any one you can think of." said Professor Rumding with a slight hint of boredom, as if she could do nothing to surprise him.

Rose stood up out of her desk and held out her wand. "Stupify!"

"Protego!" Professor Rumding called out just as Rose finished the last syllable. A flash of red lit up between the two; it popped and disappeared.

"Thank you Ms. Weasley. You will practice in pairs, the people with whom you are sitting, and your skills will be demonstrated at the front of the class at the end of class. If there are any pairs that don't show today, they will show next class." With a flick of his wand, the desks vanished, leaving plenty of room to practice. "Begin!"

Before Reggie had time to freak out over the impromptu magical presentation, the boy turned to her and smiled. "I guess we're partners then. I'm Lorcan, but all my friends call me Lorrie."

Reggie looked at his outstretched hand and feigning confidence, took it. "Reggie."

Lorrie then guided Reggie to a back corner of the classroom, never letting go of her hand. "I'm fairly decent at this spell but I really don't want to present yet."

"Me neither." admitted Reggie.

"So what house are you in? What year are you? I haven't seen you before." Lorrie shot at her rapidly, taking Reggie aback. She was still focused on calming her active breathing and heart rate. She would have given everything she owned to not have to present this spell in front of the class. Granted, she didn't own much, but nevertheless, this offer proved her point.

Suddenly, Lorrie had pushed Reggie behind him, blocking her from an array Stupify hex, and performing a brilliant shield charm. Reggie hung her head internally. _Great, I had to be paired with one of the best wizards in the class. Stupid Ravenclaws._

Stepping to the side to speak to her face to face, Lorrie said, "So how about we get started, but keep an eye out for the other hexes? How about you show me what you can do and we'll work from there. Because you already saw that I can do." Then he readied himself by spreading his legs into a solid stance and held his wand aloft.

Reggie's body felt like it was moving through pudding. She couldn't move her arm, and gripped her wand so tightly, she might have snapped it. Something told her she should come clean and admit her inability to perform a stable enough spell to deflect anything he might throw at her so that he legs weren't turned to jelly or that she didn't become numb and dumb or unable to move her limbs at all. Pride, though, willed her to try.

She raised a shaking hand and could feel the color drain from her face as Lorrie opened his mouth and whipped a hex at her.

"Protego!" The command left her mouth but it was nothing more than nonsense as she was slammed back against the wall with such force, the sound reverberated throughout the room and knocking a picture from its place.

Reggie opened her eyes and got to her feet. The room had gone silent and Lorrie had rushed to her aid.

"Ms. Black?" Professor Rumding stepped forward.

"Yes?" She answered feebly.

"React quicker next time."

"Yes, sir." Reggie stood on her weakened feet and gestured for Lorrie to try again. She inhaled, accepting that this lesson was resulting in Reggie becoming a hexing punching bag.

"Professor, I think I should take Ms. Black to the hospital wing." said Lorrie with a stubborn look on his face.

Professor Rumding gave him a critical stare. "I don't think that wil—"

Lorrie stepped up to look Professor Rumding in the eye. "With all due respect sir, she might have hit her head, she needs to go to the hospital wing. And I'm going to take her now."

"Oh no, I'm fine!" protested Reggie. But without notice, Lorcan scooped Reggie up in his arms as if she were a bride being carried over the threshold. He walked her straight out of class. Embarrassment flared in Reggie's cheeks.

When they were halfway to the hospital wing, Reggie spoke up. "Okay, I'm fine. Put me down!"

"You should have told me you have problems casting spells. I would never have attacked." Lorcan replied, not answering her to her demands.

Reggie stiffened. _How did he know? How could he have known?_

"We'll have to come up with some way to perform this in class without you flying halfway across the room. Maybe Ly can help and you just pretend?"

"No. I don't want to pretend. I'm fine on my own. I don't need your help." Reggie said, defiantly.

But Lorrie didn't respond. He shouldered the hospital wing door open and reiterated what happened in class to Madame Pomfry.

"Set her on the bed." Madame Pomfry commanded.

The minute Lorrie did so, Reggie bolted upright, trying to get out of the bed. "I am fine. I have to get to class." But Madame Pomfry slammed Reggie back down with a force that seemed impossible for a woman of her size.

"Lay down!" snapped Madame Pomfry. "You can go to class, Mr. Scamander."

"Actually I'm going to stay with Reggie, it's kind of my fault she's here."

_Lay off the nobility already._

Madame Pomfry looked her over and it was all Reggie could do not to scream. She was missing lunch. And she was not going to miss Herbology if it killed her. She had to get through Arthmancy first but that was a least a class she could handle. Quickly though, Madame Pomfry made her drink a particular potion that tasted like honeydew melon.

She never liked honeydew.

Once she was allowed to leave, Reggie swung her legs over the bed and was about to walk out when Lorrie stopped her with his words. "Well, I'll leave you alone now. I'm really sorry about at class. If you ever want help with anything, I mean it, anything, just let me know, ok?"

Reggie scowled. "I don't need help." Pausing, she added, "But thank you."

Lorrie smiled and then left the hospital wing. Reggie held her breathe and then exhaled dramatically.

Madame Pomfry was behind her folding up her beddings when the medi-witch said, "I know it's not my business but that Lorcan Scamander is a friend to have. He's one of the good ones."

ALBUS

Albus was the last in his dorm to wake up and the beds were empty when his feet hit the cold floor. He ruffled his bed-head hair, smacked his lips together and called it good. He didn't bother with breakfast, the less people he saw this morning the better. So he made his way down to the dungeons for Potions.

When he arrived, his mood was instantly worsened. Faith was sitting next to Scorpius and Maddy was standing at their table talking, so it was hard to determine where she was sitting. Nevertheless, he looked for an empty seat and saw that everyone was conveniently seated, alternating sexes. A hand shot into the air and caught his eye.

"Hey Alby!" His cousin Molly called out. "You can sit next to me."

Albus suppressed rolling his eyes. Molly was exactly like her father, chatty, stuck up, and an ubber-rule follower. In short, she was annoying. But she was still family. Secretly grateful for the offer, Albus maneuvered his way over to Molly. She grinned brightly at him. "I'm glad I got to see you. I didn't get to see you on the train. How was the ride over? Did you like the feast? Did you see the pudding incident with Faith and Maddy. Poor Faith. She should really learn how to keep her explosive nature under control."

Albus smiled at the memory of last night and tuned Molly out for the rest of the class as he caught sight the back of Maddy's head. Her long brown hair twinkled even in the dim lighting of the dungeon. The curve of her back was smooth and natural, not too upright but not hunched over like a turtle. Albus blinked and shook back the thoughts as Professor Baslin strutted into the room. She was a shorter woman with shoulder length blonde hair, a squat nose and perfected eyebrows. Her eyes were a chilling blue. She moved briskly and her robes fluttered behind her in her created wind. This was Professor Baslin's fifth year at Hogwarts and as far as she was concerned, she was there to stay.

"Name two of the main ingredients required to make an Awakening Potion?"

_Snake fangs, wolf's bane,_ thought Albus. _And dried billywig stings._

On cue, Molly's hand whipped into the air.

"Ms. Weasley?"

"Dried billywig stings and snake fangs."

"Good. Five points to Griffindor." Professor Baslin clapped her hands together. "Now let's make one shall we? Cauldrons out!"

Professor Baslin walked up and down the row, eyeing everyone as they pulled out the necessary materials. "Mr. Malfoy, you should clean that residue out of that cauldron before you get started or otherwise you'll be concocting a potion powerful enough to peel the skin off your bones."

Albus stifled a snort but it turned into a fit of coughs.

"Would you like to say something Mr. Potter?" Professor Baslin snapped in his direction.

"No, ma'am."

"I thought not." said Baslin sternly. Then she shot Albus a small wink. As she passed by his table she whispered, "It's good to see you, Albus."

"Likewise, Professor."

As Professor Baslin moved on to critique Zambini on his mix up of snake and shark fangs, Albus settled comfortably in to his seat. He relished in the fact that he was good at this. He enjoyed this. He enjoyed magic. This was why he was here. So he blocked out the white noise of the classroom, and concentrated.

His body moved like a machine but with the fluidity of a bird in flight. His stirring was gentle and methodical, his cutting even and exact. The Awakening Potion was near perfection, if he did say so himself. With still a reasonable amount of time left in the period, Professor Baslin approved with a signature nod, asking him to present a vile at the end of class.

"You two may socialize when other groups have finished." Professor Baslin permitted. She scooted off to examine another pair.

Albus scooped up his materials, satisfied with himself and his accomplishment. When everything was safely in his bag, he looked up to find Maddy now at his station. "Hello Molly! Hello Albus! Beautiful day outside isn't it?"

Albus struggled to come with an answer while preventing his face from forming into a scowl. While he's grown up with Madeline Longbottom, he resented her presence. She was ignorant and spoiled and yes, smart, but one couldn't tell from that ditzy voice of hers. And the way she flaunted herself around guys was appalling. Then there was the incident, back in first year. The worst part, she probably didn't even remember what she had done.

Luckily, Molly answered for him. "Yes, positively beautiful."

Maddy continued to ask about their summers.

"Fine. I missed school though. I was excited when I got my letter, informing me that I was a prefect." Molly flashed her badge excitedly.

Albus withheld his eyes from rolling—again. That was the seventh billion time he'd seen Molly puff out her chest with that prefect's badge. She'd been the only one in the family to get one and Uncle Percy had notified everyone right away. They'd thrown a party for her. _Just another way to make her head bigger._

Maddy offered Molly congratulations and before Maddy could turn her attention to Albus, Molly cut in. "What's that about?"

Albus looked in the direction Molly was referencing. Damien was glaring at Maddy, with a possessive fire in his eye.

"I think he's still angry about me yelling at him for exploding his pudding all over us. It wasn't nice of him at all!"

"Yeah. Not nice at all." said Albus, softly. Suddenly a beast rose in Albus' stomach. "Hey O'Shea!"

Damien's eyes shifted to Albus. "Yeah Potter?"

"We all know Madeline's got a nice backside but give it a rest, huh?" Albus responded crassly.

Uncomfortable whispers tingled around the room as nearby students reacted to Albus' comment. Maddy's eyes widened, maximizing their appeal as Damien's body tensed in aggravation.

"Alright! I want your flasks up here and for next class, a foot and a half on the history of the Awakening Potion." announced Professor Baslin, using her wand to open the door.

Albus stood and slung his bag on his shoulder. "I'll see you around." He nodded at Molly and Maddy. Then he took his bottle up to the front desk, and left the dungeon.

He walked up to the Charms classroom. He was ridiculously early and greeted by Professor Flitwick.

"Hello, Mr. Potter."

"Hello Professor."

"How was your summer?"

_I swear if someone asks me that question one more time I may hurl._ "Fine, sir."

"How are you parents?"

"Well, sir thank you." Albus set his bag in his seat and lead against the desk. "What will we be practicing today?"

"Unfortunately, we have to review levitation charms." The little man said with a grimace.

Albus groaned. "Why?"

"You would be surprised Mr. Potter, how many fifth years cannot complete a levitation spell as well as you." Professor Flitwick complimented with a twinkle in his eye.

Albus bowed his head, cordially. "Well, thank you Professor."

"I mean it, Potter. Your talent for charms is impeccable." said the professor. "I hope you will consider continuing it into your N.E.W.T. levels."

"I plan on it, sir."

More students entered the door, including Scorpius and Faith. Albus inhaled a sharp breath of air. He hardened his eyes and moved his bag to the opposite end of the room.

The lesson continued as planned, reviewing the levitation charms. It was all Albus could do to not fall asleep. But he complied, moving the feather up and down on command, knowing it wasn't he that Professor Flitwick watching. Suddenly, right as his feather was flying level with his face, it burst into flames. His hair sizzled and ash painted his face. Once he wiped the soot from his eyes, he shot a glare at Faith, knowing she was using that natural talent of hers against him. Why was Faith out to get him? Did it have something to do with Maddy and potions? He was trying to help Damien lay off Maddy; what was Faith's problem? Was she getting back at him for the pudding? But Maddy noted she thought it was Damien. How could Faith know it was him?

Albus used the end of his robes to remove the remainder of the black. He sat back for the remainder of the period and scowled at Faith and Scorpius. Once they were excused, Albus made his way back to the Great Hall for lunch. But the minute he stepped in, he saw Maddy sitting with Lysander, and Faith with Scorpius at the Slytherin table. A pit opened up in his stomach and he stormed off to the common room, thinking he could afford to skip History of Magic.

When Albus was halfway to the Slytherin common room, his stomach let out a ferocious roar.

_Ugh_, Albus complained to himself. _Skipping History of Magic is easy but skipping lunch and breakfast, not a good idea._

He spun on his heal and stomped down to the kitchens. After tickling the pear, the bowl of fruit swung open and the waft of warm bread swelled in his sinuses, welcoming him in. The moment Albus stepped through, the elves greeted him cheerfully.

"Master Potter! You're back." "How are you Mister Potter?" "Please sit over here, Mister Potter."

"Why thank you, Kli." said Albus. He couldn't help smiling at the house elves. They were always in a pleasant mood as well as ready and willing to be at your beckon call. They particularly liked Albus because he remembered each and every one of their names.

"What can we get you, Mister Potter?" Kli asked, clapping his hands together.

"Whatever's leftover from lunch will be fine, Kli, thank you."

"Oh no. We want to make something fresh for Mister Potter, sir." insisted Kli.

Albus chuckled, knowing better than to argue with the elf. "Well, alright then. How about you surprise me with something new?"

"Yes sir." The elf bounced as he turned to prepare Albus' meal, his ears flapping like wings.

A smile perked at the corners of his mouth as he was able to relax for the first time this school year.

Once the noise in Albus' stomach ceased, he said goodbye to the elves, who waved joyfully behind him, begging him to return at any time. Albus climbed several flights of stairs, craftily avoiding the History of Magic classroom, although he knew Boring Binns wouldn't know or care Albus was missing. He could ace that class with his eyes closed anyhow.

On his way back to the dungeons, he passed a window overlooking the Quidditch field and paused, his father's words reiterating themselves in his head. Albus had never liked Quidditch as much as his father and uncles. Even his mother seemed to be a huge fan. Aunt Herminone understood his disinterest but still encouraged him to watch, if he wasn't playing. He'd learned how to play all of the positions from his various family members and they would often have tournaments in the summer. There were certainly enough of the Weasley clan for several teams.

A flash of black caught his eye. He saw a bludger blaze past, nearly knocking a girl's head off. _She better be careful or she's gonna get her brain rattled_ Albus thought.

Without any real reason, Albus' feet led him down to the Quiddich pitch. When he was close enough, he could see the girl was Faith Finnigan. Albus noticed the snitch right away; it was buzzing below the center goalpost on the left side but decided against telling her. Instead, another thought crossed his mind.

"Hey," Albus called up to her, taking an unexplainable risk while swallowing his previous anger. "I...uh...I just saw you out here and I thought, you might like someone to practice with. It looks like we could both use a distraction. What do you say?"

"Alright Albus, why don't you and Nott team up?"

Albus whirled around to see Nott and Maddy behind him. Nott's face brightened as Albus' dimmed. Nott was not a Quiddich player by any means. Albus wasn't even sure he could properly ride a broom. Although, when they were all in the air, Albus ate his thoughts. Nott wasn't half bad. He wasn't good enough to get on the team but he could whack a bludger pretty far.

Albus assumed in this type of scrimmage, he and Faith were searching for the snitch while Nott and Malfoy—who, of course, had joined Faith's team when he had decided to show up—beat around bludgers. This was fine with him, but Albus sorely regretted not keeping his eye on the snitch before when it was dancing below the goalposts.

Distractions continued popping up, pulling Albus away from searching for the snitch. Like how Maddy had shown up to watch. So had Lorrie, Lysander, and Rose. Then he had caught a quick glimpse of Rose snogging one of the twins. It took all of his self-control to not zoom between the two of them, breaking them off. Still, he swirled around for the snitch.

A sizable crowd was gathering to watch this simple scrimmage. As he was flying around, Albus noticed the odd nature of this situation. Three Slytherins—none of whom were on the Slytherin Quidditch team—were playing a small scrimmage with the Griffindor Seeker. No wonder people were interested.

Albus was pulled out of his musings by Faith's triumphant shout. _Great,_ thought Albus. _She got the bloody snitch. _

Albus allowed his feet to touch the ground as Faith led out a blood-curdling scream and fell from the sky. His head jerked upward in an attempt to find her, but a person slammed into his shoulder, in a race to catch Faith's body.

It was Damien. _That git. Out for glory. _

He mumbled something to Faith before she went limp in his arms. A murmur rumbled through the crowd. "What happened?" "Didn't you see?" "A bludger." "Out of nowhere." "Hit her in the square of her back."

As Damien nobly prepared to escort Faith up to the castle, Albus gripped the handle of his broom, ready to launch in the air and curse the idiot who hurt Faith. That blow could damage her back permanently.

"Don't—Don't let him touch her!" A meek voice called out. A brown curly haired girl burst through the crowd, nearly out of breath. The crowd froze. The girl pointed at Damien. "I saw him! He enchanted the bludger to hit her. Don't let him touch her."

Damien's face narrowed in anger at the girl. Albus had only but a moment to act. He whipped out his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Faith's body hoisted itself into the air and Albus guided it over and put her safely in Lysander's arms. "Take her up to the hospital wing." He directed at Rose who nodded and went with Lysander up to the castle. Rose kissed the top of Faith's head, as if saying a prayer over her. The crowd widened their birth. He knew he could trust his cousin to get Faith to safety.

His attention whipped to Damien, Albus' wand still pointed at the Griffindor's throat. Damien, now had his own wand, and it was pointed at the girl.

"I'll hurt her, Potter" Damien threatened. To the girl, he spat, "Who are you? Accusing me? I did nothing wrong, but know, you worthless, nameless rat, I'll get you for accusing me of such a foul act."

The girl didn't answer. Albus supplied words for her. "Back down, O'Shea. Now."

"Or what, Potter?"

"Or I'll curse you into next week."

As the gap between their wands shrank, a sarcastic thought crossed Albus' mind as he noticed the fence of people circling them and the reality of his actions sunk in. _So much for another unconfrontational year._

"Don't move, O'Shea!" Albus thrust his wand forward, warningly, as Damien crept closer to the girl.

"It seems as though we are at a standstill, Potter. How about we call it an accident? We both put down our wands and go our separate ways. That way no one has to get hurt." Damien was closer to the girl now, his wand millimeters away from poking her chest.

The girl's face was blistering with fear. "Can't you see you're frightening her?" Albus defended.

"Then she shouldn't have meddled in things that were none of her business."

"Please," begged the girl, finally finding her voice. "You don't know what you're dealing with. Please stop."

"Shut up!" Damien cried, backhanding the girl across the face.

"Experliarmus!" Albus reacted instinctively. Little did he know that he would soon be on his back, unconscious.

REGGIE

Arithmancy had pasted in a blur, as it usually did for Reggie. She broke her quill tip, she was solving the problems and taking notes so quickly. Reggie cursed herself for not being more careful. She was down to her last quill and didn't have enough to buy more.

But she swiftly tucked away her parchment and ink as she made her way to the greenhouses. Professor Longbottom greeted her at the door. She could tell she was the last one to come but Professor Longbottom still made a minute to talk to her.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Black."

"Good afternoon, Professor Longbottom." chided Reggie.

"You're looking at bit frazzled. Busy already?"

"No. Just lots of homework. Fifth year, you know how it is."

"Yes. I remember." nodded Professor Longbottom. "Have you had a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson yet?"

Reggie's lips tightened. "Yes. I got sent to the hospital wing already."

Professor Longbottom held back a snort and Reggie's cheeks flushed. "Well, that's not going to happen to you in this class."

"Unless I get myself knocked out by a mandrake." joked Reggie, lightning the mood a little.

Here, Professor Longbottom released a laugh."This is very true. Come on in now."

Professor Longbottom ushered her in and she took a seat next to a Hufflepuff boy; she knew his name but he didn't know hers, so Reggie stayed quiet.

Herbology was enjoyable, Professor Longbottom always made it so with his jokes and his promising projects for the year. By the time he was done explaining the syllabus, class was over and Reggie headed back up to the castle.

When she was halfway down the main hall, she was stopped by Professor Baslin. "Hello Ms. Black."

"Hello Professor." Reggie said, halting in her step. "Do you need something from me?"

"Yes." began Professor Baslin. "If you could please meet me in my office after supper. There are some things I would like to discuss with you."

"Of course." Reggie stuttered.

"Good. See you then." And Professor Baslin made her way down the hall.

Reggie had to turn to keep an eye on the potions professor. "Am I am trouble?"

Professor Baslin faced Reggie and laughed. "Have you done anything to get you into trouble?"

Reggie shook her head vigorously. "Then you've answered your question."

The professor walked in her brisk manner down the hall, leaving Reggie's head whirring in her wake.

Just as Professor Baslin was out of Reggie's sight, she didn't even have a second to process what Professor Baslin requested, as she got caught up in a rush of students heading down to the Quidditch pitch. Her bag slid off her shoulder and fell into the midst of the crowd as she grappled to walk against the flow, but to no avail.

Reggie found herself down at the Quidditch pitch on the outskirts of the crowd, watching three boys and a girl zoom around on brooms. She'd never been to a Quidditch match—never found it interesting—and had trouble finding her way through the crowd. A couple of Ravenclaws were snogging to her left and Reggie inched away, trying to sneak back to the castle to find her bag.

As she was stepping away, she tripped over a rock and fell on her face. Reggie spit dirt out of her mouth and waved grass out of her hair. _Clumsy idiot,_ Reggie called herself. Suddenly, a figure leapt over Reggie to the other side the Quidditch field. Reggie flatted her body against the ground again to keep from being squashed. Her vision followed the figure—who she deciphered was a Griffindor boy—and saw him staring intently up at one of the Quidditch players.

Her stomach twisted into knots as a sense of foreboding loomed over her. The boy looked ready to kill and she watched as he pulled out his wand, pointing it at one of the heavy balls. Reggie sat herself up, and turned her vision skyward as the boy directed the ball toward the girl player.

A gasp filled Reggie's lungs and a faint cry of "Look out!" rang in her ears. But the warning came too late as the ball rammed into the girl's shoulder, sending a crack through the air harmonized by the girl's scream as she tumbled to the ground. The boy who had orchestrated the attack raced to catch the girl as she fell.

Reggie jumped to her feet and moved forward in the crowd for a better look at the situation. Was she only one who had seen what really happened? The crowd buzzed like bees around her, making it impossible to think. Then Reggie was pushed back as the wave of people parted to make room for the boy, carrying his victim.

Something boiled inside Reggie. Forgetting her rules of invisibility, Reggie burst forward from the crowd. "Don't—Don't let him touch her!" Her voice sounded unsure and weak, but she filled her chest with air and shouted, with a pointed finger, "I saw him! He enchanted the bludger to hit her. Don't let him touch her."

The attacker and Reggie locked eyes and Reggie's heart sank to her toes. She had just signed her death wish.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" barked a lanky boy with black hair. The body of the girl floated into the hands of one of the snogging Ravenclaws. "Take her up to the hospital wing."

A group of students raced up to the castle with the unconscious girl. _I hope she's okay._ Reggie only had moments to worry about the girl because a wand was pulled on her from the Griffindor.

"I'll hurt her, Potter." The boy threatened. Reggie gulped as his horrid eyes narrowed on her again. "Who are you? Accusing me? I did nothing wrong, but know, you worthless, nameless rat, I'll get you for accusing me of such a foul act."

Reggie wanted to hide. She regretted ever saying anything. She should have just walked back up to the castle and fetched her bag. Now she was in a mess that wasn't hers. That she shouldn't be in. There were too many people around. Too many eyes on her. Too many people taking in her features, memorizing them for later recognition.

"Back down, O'Shea. Now."

"Or what, Potter?"

"Or I'll curse you into next week."

The boy called O'Shea crept a few steps toward Reggie, closing the gap between her throat and the tip of his wand. Reggie's fists clenched, trying to prevent the familiar fire igniting in her throat.

_No! No! Not now. Please not now. There are too many people. They could all get hurt. All because I intervened. Please, don't._ She begged internally.

"Don't move, O'Shea!" The Potter boy thrust his wand forward, warningly.

"It seems as though we are at a standstill, Potter. How about we call it an accident? We both put down our wands and go our separate ways. That way no one has to get hurt." The O'Shea boy was closer to Reggie now, his wand millimeters away from poking her chest.

Her insides were boiling and if that tip came any closer she was going to blow. Reggie could feel hot tears stinging the inside of her eyes. She was so frightened and the emotion was jarring her body, fueling the fire.

"Can't you see you're frightening her?" Potter defended.

"Then she shouldn't have meddled in things that were none of her business."

"Please," begged Reggie, finally finding her voice. "You don't know what you're dealing with. Please stop."

"Shut up!" O'Shea cried, backhanding Reggie across the face.

"Experliarmus!"

A flash of red light erupted in front of Reggie's eyes as a rocket of pain shot up her face. She screamed, unable to hold back any longer and the explosion rippled across her body, breaking through the crowd, making students fly backward and knocking out those who were standing too close.

Before she blacked out, Reggie prayed no one had died at her hand.

ALBUS

Albus' eyes fluttered open. The Hospital Wing was a flurry with people. Nurses were flying around as if they had wings and students were helping by administering potions and comforting distraught students. The last thing he remembered was shooting a spell at Damien for smacking that girl. Then something exploded and now he was here.

_What happened?_

He was able to sit up and see his surroundings with more clarity. Albus noticed Faith across the way sitting up simultaneously with him. Faith flung her legs over the bed and crossed to the bed where Scorpius was lying next to Albus. Albus watched silently as Faith tried to coax Scorpius awake.

"Scorpius? Hey, come on, wake up...Scorpio!" Suddenly she was being forced back into bed by Madam Pomfrey.

Lorcan slipped in the doors and helped restrain Faith to her bed. He assured her that everyone was fine and they were just unconscious. _Unconscious? Why?_

As Lorcan continued talking to Faith, Albus tried to stop one of the people rushing around to ask what was going on. As he adjusted himself, he felt a weight pulling at his blankets. A figure was asleep at the foot on his bed, head in their arms. He instantly recognized her dark hair and slender figure.

_Maddy._

Albus felt the edges of his lips start to rise but he forced them quickly into a frown, due to a sharp pain that shot up his cheek. He wiggled his feet from out underneath the blankets and swung them over the side of the bed. Inconspicuously, Albus hopped out of bed and gently moved Maddy's limp body to Scorpius' bed. He swiveled her chair and placed her arms below her head for some support. Then he brushed a strand of hair from her face before stepping past her into the chaos.

Looking around, Albus could see no one was paying attention to him. He also couldn't find the one person he wanted to talk to about the incident. The only one he was sure could answer all his questions. He'd been right next to her when the explosion happened. Albus had seen more than he was going to let on but nevertheless it was enough to raise some huge questions and cause major discrepancies. His curiosity wasn't going to be satisfied here. He could probably find out more information outside the confined wing.

Nothing hurt when he moved but he assumed his face had traces of cuts because of the pain he felt when he tried to smile. It would only be sore for a couple of days. Carefully, Albus slipped past the rushing individuals and quietly, left the Hospital Wing, on a secret mission to find answers.

Albus snuck back, undetected, to his room. Sifting through his trunk, Albus pulled out a square piece of parchment. He smiled—causing his face to tremble in pain, he seriously needed to find a mirror to see what damage had been done—as he tapped his wand to it and muttered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good".

The parchment illuminated with black spider webs of ink, slipping and sliding throughout the pages. Tiny black dots maneuvered their way around the 2D castle and quickly Albus' excitement faded.

He wasn't going to be able to find her because he had no idea what her name was. The Marauder's Map didn't have pictures identifying the dots. _Great,_ thought Albus. _That won't work._

Albus sat on the top of his trunk contemplating his next plan of action. Absently, he stared at the map, scanning it for his family. As he spotted each one in turn, his eyes grazed over the hospital wing. Maddy, Nott, Scorpius, Faith, Lorcan and Rose were sitting all clumped together. _What are they doing?_

Tempted to go back to the hospital wing, Albus fought against his laziness since he was _just_ there. Albus sighed, stuffed the map into his pocket, giving in, and trudged back across the castle.

He slipped back into the infirmary and noticed Maddy's back was to him. An urge to make her jump swelled inside him but before he was able to Madame Pomfry stopped him in his tracks.

"Mr. Potter! There you are. Your face is healing nicely, and it shouldn't leave too big a scar." The medi-witch said, in an attempt to be encouraging. However Albus, normally not vain, was worried about his new scar. But it honestly couldn't be worse than his dads. "Does it hurt?"

"When I move too much." answered Albus truthfully.

"That's natural." Madame Pomfry smiled. "Mr. Potter, do you mind telling me what you remember from the other day?"

This seemed like an odd question to Albus. He had his mouth open to answer when he saw Rose shaking her head over Madame Pomfry's shoulder. "Lie" His cousin mouthed. There was a second to decide what to do and Albus acted impulsively.

"Not much. There was a flash of light and I was out. I don't remember much of anything." shrugged Albus with a false air of confidence dusted in nonchalant.

"Well, then" said Madame Pomfry. "I suggest you get some rest, Mr. Potter." And she walked away to address another student.

Albus quickly rushed up to Rose and her friends. "Anyone want to tell me what's going on?"

Rose looked uneasy. "Later."

"No, now." said Albus impatiently.

Her eyes shot at Madame Pomfry and in turn, Albus rolled his. "Well, then let's go somewhere different, shall we?"

Albus waited until Madame Pomfry's back was turned, and he, once again slipped out of the Hospital Wing, not waiting to see who would follow.

Albus led his group of friends into an empty classroom. He noticed Rose, Nott, Maddy, and Scoripus carrying Faith had followed and he smiled slightly at the small comfort of power that welled inside his chest. Lorrie was missing but this could wait. Someone could fill him in later.

As they were walking to the classroom, Rose approached Albus and tried to touch his face. Albus recoiled. "You should get someone to look at that, Alby."

"I'm fine, Rose."

Rose inhaled sharply. "You should learn how to let people take care of you Alby."

Albus ignored this comment and stuck to the task at hand, opening the door for his followers into the classroom.

"Alright Potter. Why did we have to go somewhere different? Do you have something to say?" said Scoripus, jumping right to the point.

"Something happened down at the pitch." Albus began. "Something that the staff doesn't want the students remembering which automatically means it's important. And we have to find out what happened down there."

"Why?" Rose interrupted.

"What do you mean why?"

"Why do we have to figure out what happened? If they don't want us to know about it then, maybe we should just leave it be." Rose reasoned.

Albus saw remnants of the stories his dad and Uncle Ron told about Aunt Herminone and how cautious she was to break the rules in this current moment with his cousin. Except that Aunt Herminone would always come around and he knew this was case with her daughter as well.

"Don't you want to know? Aren't you the least bit curious?" He looked around at the rest of his friends for support, waiting for them to answer. After a moment's pause, Albus continued, "Does anyone have any ideas on what happened?"

They all discussed this for a moment—save for Faith, she seemed to fall asleep. Albus couldn't blame her with the shot she took. Then, Lorcan entered. He saw Faith in Scoripus' arms and chuckled. "When did you two get together?"

As if Faith was prepared to combat this insult, she suddenly whipped about in Scoripus' arms, managing to whack Nott in the face, only hard enough to cause a black eye. Scoripus managed not to drop her as she wiggled like a fish on a hook. When she finally came to, Faith and Scoripus were face to face, noses touching.

An awkward pause froze the group. Albus had snuck into the corner while the chaos had ensued and he felt a misplaced anger burn in his stomach. He couldn't place the origin, betrayal? Things not going his way? People not listening? Where was this anger coming from?

As the focus had shifted to Faith and Scoripus, Albus slipped out of the room, secretly knowing he was giving up on his friends too quickly, but left all the same to resume his solitude.

Albus watched the others exit the room. Scorpius was the first out and he glanced at Albus, saying, "Potter, we'll talk more about this after everyone is fully rested. It's almost curfew, so I suggest that you head to bed now."

Albus' face flushed at having been told what to do by Malfoy. "Thanks for the help Malfoy." Albus retorted, his voice lathered in sarcasm. Then he stomped off to the dungeons, making sure to take a different route than Malfoy or Nott.

REGGIE

"Regina Arielle Black." Professor McGonagall said with that sharp tone that usually resonated in her voice. It was more prominent when someone was in trouble and Reggie was in trouble. A more obvious way for Reggie to tell this was the fact that she was sitting in a secluded part of the Hospital Wing—secluded as in back in a corner with two solid doors and a lengthy hallway blocking her from the rest of the school—the headmistress, her head of house, the Minister of Magic, Madame Pomfrey and a representative from St. Mungo's were surrounding her bed, not to mention the fact that McGonagall had used her full name.

She was finally awake and sane enough to have a coherent enough conversation with these dignitaries. It was the second day after the explosion and she'd been thankful when she heard no one was killed and very few were severely injured. The explosion had left Reggie unconscious and once aroused, she was spitting out jargon like her brains had been blended and she had no memory of the previous incident. The memories were still gone but she'd been updated and her speech and thought processes had returned to normal. Although, whenever Reggie had even the slightest incident, it frightened her to think what these attacks were going to do to her in the long run.

Right now, she had to focus on the present and exactly what punishment was going to be handed to her. She'd been warned that this couldn't happen at Hogwarts. Never again. Well, it had happened again. So were they going to follow through on their promise since she was unable to follow through on her end?

"Yes, Professor?"

"Are you aware of the rules laid out when you first agreed to come to Hogwarts?"

"Yes ma'am."

"What were they?"

Reggie inhaled deeply and recited, "That I was to not perform unnecessary magic, remain inconspicuous, distant and unseen while still keeping up with my studies, not to provoke any instances of dueling or unplanned use of magic, and practice magic in supervised or secluded environments."

"And this was put in place...?"

"To protect myself, other students and staff members and ensure their safety while still getting the education like any other witch or wizard."

"And if you didn't abide by these rules?"

Reggie gulped, holding back tears. "I would be expelled from the school. And if necessary, taken to St. Mungo's Hospital."

"How did we ever let her in to the school in the first place?" The Minister asked.

"The quill writes out the name of every magical witch or wizard when they are born." explained McGonagall. "We have no choice on the matter. The student has the choice to accept or decline, however."

"And she's been here how long? Five years? Why did this start happening all of a sudden? And why is this happening?" continued the Minister.

"Surely Minister, you remember when Regina first came to us." Professor McGonagall said. "Her entry based on reasons of safety was reviewed countless times. It was you, I believe, who argued everyone has the right to a Hogwarts education."

"Why, yes, but not if—"

"And it was you, Hanzel, who cleared her to be able to come to school." Professor McGonagall spun on the St. Mungo's healer.

"Yes." He stuttered. "And I still believe she is fit enough to come to school, as long as she follows the rules set in place."

"I'm sorry." Reggie pleaded. "I didn't mean for this happen. I never mean it to. I can't control any of it, and I don't know why it happens. But please don't make me leave. I love it here, even when I'm invisible. I don't have anywhere else to go. It...that boy just had his wand at my throat and—"

"And Damien O'Shea is being held accountable for his actions as you are for yours." Professor McGonagall cut Reggie off. "Minister, what do you think?"

"She should be removed at once."

Reggie let out a squeal mixed with a cry on despair.

"Professor Baslin?"

"She should stay," The head of Hufflepuff house replied. "But not without consequences.

Professor McGonagall was intrigued. "What are you proposing?"

"She should be able to continue certain subjects that do not require the use of her wand such as Arithmancy and Herbology, Potions, History of Magic. Other than that, her wand should be taken from her, as that is her outlet for magic. She can have it at designated times in the day, so there isn't a buildup of magic and she can learn certain spells from a private session."

"Who will teach these sessions?"

"I will." Professor Baslin offered. "I was going to suggest it anyway for her before this incident. During the times she is not in class she must be restricted to one specific area, the common room or an empty classroom. But she should continue her invisible life as normal."

Reggie thought about this offer; it was either this or expulsion and incarceration. She would be basically imprisoned in Hogwarts but she didn't care as long as she got to stay. Reggie knew her life was going to get a lot harder.

Professor McGonagall pondered over Professor Baslin's words. Reggie remained silent as the headmistress held Reggie fate in her hands.

"Alright Carolyn. Reggie is your responsibility, you are to vouch for her."

Professor Baslin and Reggie locked eyes. Reggie made a silent promise to not let the potions master down. "Agreed."

"Then Regina, you will remain here for another day or two and then return to school under these new restrictions. If something happens again, there will be no more chances, understood?"

"Yes." Reggie said with too much enthusiasm in her voice than she meant to let on.

Professor McGonagall made to leave, Hanzel and Professor Baslin made to follow her when the Minister asked. "What are we going to tell the students and their parents? And how many of them are going to remember Regina?"

"Poppy you know how to take care of the memory situation. I will send complaining students your way. And Minister, we will simply tell them an ineffective protective shield was performed and cracked causing the explosion."

With that they all swept out of the room. Madam Pomfrey nodded cordially at Reggie who smiled at her and then closed the door behind the brigade as Reggie laid back on her bed, preparing for her forty-eight hours of solitary confinement.

Sleep became Reggie's only comfort but even then, that single friend began to betray her when the nightmares came.

They were always the same, so much so, she could practically recite them, however that would force her to relive them and that would not be a good idea. So instead, she sat on the edge of the bed. Once she heard what she could have sworn was a girl screaming but that could have been echoes from her dreams.

Reggie had given up trying to keep track of the time. Regretting not putting on her watch that particular morning, Reggie tossed and turned in the bed. She could feel herself cooling from the explosion but the lack of peaceful sleep wasn't helping her recovery.

_I gotta get out of here._ She thought to herself. Then she spoke aloud, because, why not? "I gotta get out of here!" For emphasis she whacked the wall. Yet that only made her cry out in pain and have to suck away the blood from the cut on her hand. Cradling her hand, Reggie laid back on her bed.

A dangerous idea came to mind and Reggie fought rejecting so quickly. There were layers of cement between her and the rest of the school, idealistic for practicing magic. There was a candle next to her bedside and Reggie attempted to light it by pointing at it. She'd seem some of the professors do it, of course, most of the time they had wands. Which she didn't have.

At this thought, Reggie sighed and gave up. _What's the point? _Flopping back onto the bed, Reggie decided to count all of the bricks in the room and then give them all names, just because she had nothing better to do.

"Hey, are you ok?"

Reggie snapped up in her bed. There, doting in the doorway, was the Ravenclaw boy from her Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Reggie's heart pounded inside her chest, vibrating against her ribs. _What is he doing here?_

"You're not supposed to be in here." Reggie said blatantly. She meant it as a warning, not an invitation as the boy walked over to her bed and sat at the foot of it. _Doesn't he know the kind of trouble we can both get into if someone sees he was here?_

"I overheard some teachers talking and thought I would come to keep you company, unless you preferred to be alone?" The boy—Lorrie, his name was if memory served—said with a glint in his eye.

While the offer for company was tempting, Reggie was already on probation for getting kicked out. There was absolutely no way she was going to test the waters. Just as Reggie was about to open her mouth, commanding him to leave the way he came, she heard the _click-clack_ of Madame Pomfrey's heals against the stone. The handle of the door started to wiggle and Lorcan noticed this as well. Panic swelled in Reggie's stomach as Lorcan flew under the bed and Mademe Pomfrey entered the room.

Madam Pomfrey asked, "I thought I had heard something in here Miss Black, are you alright?"

"Yes." Reggie lied. "I'm fine." It astonished Reggie that Madame Pomfrey was able to "hear" something through all the layers of concrete separating her from the rest of the school. The medi-witch was really there just to check on her, making sure she wasn't breaking any more rules. And Reggie wasn't. As far as the Healer knew.

"Well then," said Madame Pomfrey. "I believe your confinement is almost over. Nearly a day left, and then you can return to classes. I will bring you dinner by a little later."

"Okay." Reggie nodded. She figured it was best to say as little as possible.

The medi-witch took that as her signal to leave and did so. The minute the door clicked shut, Lorcan appeared out from under the bed and returned to his spot on the end of it. Reggie couldn't describe the angry stirring inside her. She bit her tongue to prevent it from lashing out at this foolish boy. She knew he couldn't possibly know what was at stake for her. Nevertheless, she couldn't let him interfere. _I swear, if he messes anything up for me, revenge will be sought._

Lorcan seemed to sense her anger because he said. "Maybe I should leave."

"I think so." said Reggie coldly.

Lorcan, then, pulled out a parchment and tapped it with his wand. "Here, take this, if you need something just write it on there and I'll get the message. You don't need ink, you can even use your finger." Lorcan proceeded to show Reggie the parchment by tracing a smiley face on it he handed it to her as the image faded away. He smiled as he pulled out an identical parchment from his pocket and showed her the smiley face now adorning his paper. "Even if you just want to talk just write ok?"

It was all Reggie could do to not rip the paper in his face and throw him out the door herself. Instead, she remained patient and returned an insincere smile. This kid thought he was doing good but all he was doing was making the problem and her life worse.

Lorcan smiled at Reggie and then left the room. Reggie exhaled deeply, releasing her frustration and stared down at the parchment. Instead of destroying it like she wanted, Reggie simply folded the paper and slipped it under the mattress, unsure if she was going to leave it there permanently.

ALBUS

The next morning, Albus slept through breakfast and cursed at himself for doing so. He couldn't be making a habit out of missing breakfast, especially not this early in the school year. So, he trudged to the potions room as Professor Baslin taught the class about antidotes. Albus rolled his eyes but soon got into his zone, blocking out the frustration and anger building inside of him.

He caught sight of Maddy a couple of times during the class and Albus was compelled to talk to her about the explosion. He knew the only person who really knew what had happened was that girl but hadn't Maddy been on top of the hill? Surely from there she would have had a clear view of what happened.

At the end of the period, there was a squeal to Albus' left and he noticed Faith cut her finger. Albus stood up to help her but Markus got there first and was a complete git about wiping up her blood and kissing her hand once it was bandaged.

A bell went off in the distance, signalling the end of the period. Albus was walking behind Maddy and almost grabbed her hand as they were walking out the door, when he heard his name being called. "Potter! A word."

Albus froze, letting Maddy leave without her knowing the better. Albus, then, turned back to Professor Baslin. "Yes, Professor?"

"I would like your help with a project of mine." said Professor Baslin, jumping to the point. She was known for her bluntness.

Albus' eyes widened with apparent interest. "What kind of project?"

"There is a student who needs...special assistance. And I have been assigned to help her. I thought, since you are one of the best wizards in your year, and as such you have a tendency to get bored, this might bring some excitement back into learning."

"Tutoring?" Albus deciphered. "You want me to help you tutor a student."

"It's not just tutoring." Professor Baslin's eyes twinkled. "Trust me, Albus, I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't think it was worth your time."

Yet, Albus was still skeptical. This doubt was spelled out on his face so Professor Baslin continued, "Well, if you change your mind, we will be in the Room of Requirement at four o'clock today."

Albus nodded his head and turned to leave. "And Albus," Professor Baslin added. "This information, is not to shared. With anyone, understood?"

"Understood." reiterated Albus.

REGGIE

Reggie was released right before Herbology. She has just enough time to rush to her dorm, shower, change her clothes, grab her books, and run to the greenhouses, as to not be late. She slipping in the door just as Professor Longbottom was about start class. He smiled at her as she entered and slid into her seat at the back of the room.

Herbology was a breeze, they were just potting Greggory Fire plants and not once did she get blasted. The only bump in the period was the Ravenclaw boy sitting down the table from her. Had he even notice that she snuck into the room? She was hoping the answer was no as he was the only one who knew of her existance other than the professors. If he decided to push her too hard, or threatened to hurt her chances of staying at Hogwarts, she could always tell Madame Pomfry and the medi-witch would take care of that problem. However, Reggie brushed this idea away instantly. The idea of being completely invisible, completely forgotten, scared her. So Reggie sat quietly through the remainder of the class, using the techniques she'd learned throughout the past five years.

Once Herbology ended, Reggie snaked through the door and power-walked up the stairs to the castle. It was here that Professor Baslin stopped her. "Hello Reggie."

"Hello Professor Baslin." Reggie nodded cordially and then tried to dart past the Potions Master, but the woman blocked her way.

"Are you ready for your lesson?" The Professor raised her eyebrows excitedly.

"Now?" asked Reggie.

"Yes." Professor Baslin said definitively. "Come."

Baslin took Reggie hand and led her up several stairs and through several corridors until they reached an empty wall on the seventh floor where a lanky boy with dark hair and green eyes was leaning. Reggie recognized him instantly as the boy who had defended her during the explosion. Would he recognize her?

It appeared as though he did because when the pair approached him, he pushed himself off the wall, eyes unable to hide his surprise.

"Hello Albus. Glad to see you decided to join us." Baslin smiled as she took his hand on the other side and continued her brisk pace. Reggie had never seen the professor this jazzed as she dragged the two students past the wall.

"Wouldn't have missed it." The boy, now named Albus, said quickly as he was picked up into the Professor's whirlwind. "Uh…Professor, what are you doing?" He added as Baslin about-faced and started dragging them in the opposite direction.

"Just start reciting, 'We need a place to practice'. In your heads, please." Baslin instructed.

Reggie and Albus exchanged a quick glance before doing as they were told. With each repetition, Reggie thought Professor Baslin was going mad. But after three complete paces in front of the wall, a door appeared. It was Reggie who noticed it first and she slipped out of Baslin's grip, pointing wordlessly.

"Ah. Finally." Professor Baslin dropped Albus's hand and walked confidently through the door.

Reggie felt there was nothing she could do except follow the Professor. She could tell that Albus right behind her. Once he shut the door, Reggie had the eminent sense that she was in for the long haul.

ALBUS

"Albus Potter, this is Regina Black." Professor Baslin introduced, her hand passing between then two. Albus's eyes continued to grow in size. Not only had he been shocked to see that the student who needed tutoring was the exact girl that he was trying to find, but her name was Black? Was she related to the Black family? She had to be, that name was not one used lightly in the wizarding world. _Does Dad know about her? I have to tell him._

"Reggie." corrected Reggie quietly. She held out her hand politely and Albus took it. It was freezing cold, making Albus feel as though he'd dunked his hand into a bag of ice.

"Albus." Albus replied dumbly as he had already been introduced. It was just the inconcivable coinsidence that he was here, with her. And now he had her name.

"Now Albus," began Professor Baslin. "As you may remember the incident two days ago—"

Albus nodded but Reggie interrupted. "Professor, how much are you planning to tell him?"

"Only what is imperitive for him to know." said Baslin reassuringly. "Albus has already been sworn to secrecy and I trust him implicitly." Albus's chest swelled at the professor's faith in him. Regina is in need of some special instruction. You see, something occured in Ms Black's life that rendered her magical abilities unstable, however not completely uncontrollable."

"That's up for debate." Reggie muttered.

"St. Mungo's claims that she is not a threat to the school granted she is not provoked, nevertheless, when provoked-"

"She explodes." Albus interrupted, understanding. Reggie was staring at the floor, refusing to look anywhere else.

"Because of the nature of her condition, Regina has been given...guidelines for her time at Hogwarts. Due to recent events, the guidlines have been restricted however, our goal is to help Regina learn the same spells as any other student in a safe, and secret environment in the hopes to prevent another explosion and to help Regina later in her life." finished Professor Baslin.

Albus couldn't take his eyes off Reggie. _What an incredible burden to bare. To be forced to be invisible to the world._

"I recruited you, Albus, in the event that if I am unable to teach Regina, that you will bring her here and practice with her. However, if at any time, I feel as though this arrangement is not working, I reserve the right to terminate it, agreed." said Professor Baslin, eyeing Albus.

But Albus continued to look at Reggie, trying to catch her eyes. This was a chance to share his love of magic with someone else, someone who obviously needed the help. And the itch inside his brain telling him that there was more to Regina Black than met the eye, would ultimately satisfied. As if sensing his thoughts, she looked up.

"Agreed." Albus said. "I promised to do my best by you."

Professor Baslin clapped her hands. "Then let's get started!"

REGGIE

_Well, that was a disaster!_ Reggie thought as she scurried out of the Room of Requirement. They had started with a simple levitation spell and Reggie couldn't get anything off the ground unless she physically picked the feather up and threw it in to the air. She had hated that Professor Baslin had brought Albus to the lessons. It was already embarressing enough to have to fail in front of Professor Baslin, but now she had to fall on her face-and put her trust-in a student who probably thought she was a pathedic wreck. He had seemed nice enough though, smiling occasionally and encouraging her to try different pronounciations and such. But they all knew, this was first year material. Reggie hadn't made the feather fly then, and nothing had changed four years later.

Professor Baslin had left with the promise of returning the same time on Monday and all Reggie could think was of the fresh hell she'd landed in.

Reggie rushed down the hallway, zipping through people and she eerily knew Albus was following her. He was much taller than her, so his legs caused him to catch up quickly. Eventually, Reggie stopped, knowing she wasn't going to win this race.

"Reggie. said Albus, approaching her. Reggie spun on her heal, expectantly, and tried to wiped the irriation from her face. "You did well today."

The scoff burst from her mouth. "Don't lie to me. I was terrible and we both know it. And don't expect much to change. I have to get back to my dorm."

Reggie tried to leave but Albus held her shoulder, gently. "You'll get better. You'll see."

"I wish a couple of private study sessions are going to change what four years at the best wizarding school couldn't." said Reggie honestly. "But history has shown me different.

"It was the first day." Albus reasoned.

Reggie inhaled deeply. "I have to get some homework done, so—"

Once again, Reggie tried to walk away but Albus's grip moved down to her arm. "Why don't you and I go to the Great Hall for din—"

Reggie, fed up, pulled her arm away and straightend her back, exclaiming, "I'm not allowed to have friends!" There was a pause as Albus's grip loosened. "They keep me in isolation for a reason. I spend my summers at St. Mungo's for a reason. I am invisible for a reason." Reggie hardened her eyes, relaying the seriousness of the situation. "I am dangerous."

Albus's fingers pealed themselves from Reggie's arm and Reggie jumped at the opportunity. She briskly walked around the corner, smacking into a couple. Reggie and the brown-haired girl were on the floor, whereas the boy was just shoved back a few steps. Albus rounded the corner, hearing the papers fluttering around everyone from the dropped bag, and dropping to Reggie's side.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Watch where you're going!" The Slytherin boy snapped.

Once the falling papers were on the ground, Reggie noticed another couple who had obviously been uncomfortably close five seconds ago, rushing to aid them as well. Reggie knew she had to get out of there but once again, Albus wasn't letting her go. All Reggie could do was think about getting out of that corridor. But Albus had a tight grip on her arm, even after he had hoisted her to her feet. A spat ensued from the couple that had been down the hall.

"Hey! I thought you liked me Scorpius!" The girl had called out.

The handsome blond boy spun on his heel and retorted, "No. You presumed wrong. I saw you earlier this morning when you were crying and I was comforting you. That doesn't mean I like you." Then he stormed off and the long red-headed girl sniffled pathedically. "I hope you're happy now!"

"Jealous doesn't suit you Domi." said the girl Reggie had run into.

The Ravenclaw responded, "Whoever gets a guy like Scorpius...she's gonne be a lucky girl."

_Who would want to be with him?_ Reggie thought judgementally. _After the way he treated that girl, blowing her off like that, not me. But, then, I don't know the whole story._ Reggie scolded herself and mentally slapped away the distracting thoughts. She had to focus on getting away from Albus who, too, had been watching the scene unfold before them like a Muggle Soap Opera.

"You'll be fine, Dom." Albus added. "You'll find another guy soon. How about Marcus, here?"

Reggie now turned to look at Marcus who had been drooling over the pretty Ravenclaw since the debatical had begun. But Domi took one look at Marcus as if just realizing he was there and sniffled again.

"I don't think so." Then she ran off dramatically, with her face in her hands. And despite his instant rejection, Marcus chased after the girl, like a dog and a tennis ball.

"I hope you're ok." said the brunette. "I have to go, but have a good night? You too Albus."

"Goodnight Faith." Albus nodded and Faith ran off.

That left Reggie and Albus in the corridor, which was the last thing Reggie had wanted to happen. And he still had a grip on her arm. A gentle grip, yes, but a grip nonetheless. Reggie wiggled her arm and Albus seemed to realize he was still touching her. He finally released her and Reggie made to run off, but his voice stopped her.

"I can be your friend."

Reggie froze. His comment plucked ever heart string buried deep in Reggie's chest. If she could just let herself say yes, to succumb to a friendship with this boy, she might not have to be alone. But then familarity, reason, and fear snapped the cords beckoning her back to Albus and his invitation to dinner. Reggie continued walking away without a backward glance.

Regina Black trooped all the way down to the Hufflepuff common room, without so much as a glance from anyone. She entered her solitary dorm room, stripped off her robes replacing them with pajamas, and settled into her bed, silent and secluded. Just like she was supposed to be.

The next morning, Reggie forced herself to go to breakfast. She had made up her mind the night before to avoid Albus Potter as much as possible. She only had to see him during their study sessions and that was the only time she wanted to see him. Reggie relied on her inate sense to be invisible to get her through breakfast in the Great Hall. Luckily it was Saturday so she could eat, and then disapear in the library or the common room.

However, Albus found her quickly. He noticed her the minute she sat down at the Hufflepuff table. Reggie could feel his eyes watching her, seeing her when no one else did. And it unsettled every cell in her stomach. He was determined to talk to her today; his objective was written all over his face.

As a result of his staring, Reggie cut breakfast short. She left the Great Hall, in a rush, hoping to lose Albus in the crowd that was forming around the door, of the early eaters leaving to enjoy the last of the beautiful weather. But he followed her. Reggie darted and weaved through the students. But he wasn't letting up.

In an act of desperation, Reggie ducked her head low and crouched behind a taller blonde boy and wrapped her fingers around his biceps and dragged the boy, using him as a shield, around a corner. She was fast in her movements but quickly losing her mind because Reggie realized she had just reencounted another boy she wanted to avoid. Reggie was now trapped in an alcove with her Ravenclaw partner from her Defense of the Dark Arts class.

"Bollox."

ALBUS

Albus cursed as he lost Reggie in the crowd of students, rushing to go outside on their first Saturday off. He spun around, looking ridiculous, as he scanned the crowd for her. However, she was nowhere to be found.

Giving up, Albus swore again and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He kicked the ground and then stared up at the ceiling, for inspiration.

Which came in the form of his little sister. "Hey Albus! Have you eaten?"

Lily smiled at him. Normally, she wouldn't have asked him to eat with her so he shot her a suspicous look. "Why?"

"Well," She said, approaching him. "I was gonna invite you to eat with me this morning even though I know you'll probably say no because you're all hell bent and being gloomy, and 'woa is me', because Hugo is being a sleepy head and I have no one else to eat with."

Albus cocked an eyebrow. "I'm you're last resort, huh?"

"Look, you don't have to if you don't want to. I was just offering to be nice but just know that this-" She circled his head with her finger, sassily. "-is all your choice. And don't you ever say that we didn't try and include you because, you know what, we did and—"

"Let's go eat, Lil." said Albus, interrupting his sister. She looked as though he had slapped her in the face with a frying pan rather than saying yes to her invitation to breakfast.

"Oh," stuttered Lily. "Yeah, sure. Let's go."

Albus let Lily walk a little ahead of him into the Great Hall. She confidently led the way to the Griffindor table and Albus hesistated for a moment. While she was sitting at an empty section of the table, this would be the first time in four years that Albus had even approached this table, let alone sat at it. So he inhaled and plopped himself across from Lily, justifying these actions by telling himself he was there to catch up with his little sister.

While buttering a piece of toast, Albus asked, "So how's your new subjects?"

Lily proceeded to talk about her classes, in her speedy voice. If Albus hadn't grown up with her, he wouldn't have been able to decipher anything she was saying because her words blurred together, rushing past your ears like tornado winds.

As Lily was going on about the stupid choice of taking Ancient Ruins-"Honestly, they're ancient. Who cares?"-Albus noticed Maddy and his stomach flipped excitedly. _What the heck?"_ Albus thought to himself in regards to his gymnast-like organs.

Apparently something showed on his face because Lily stopped talking. "Who are you looking at?"

"Huh," said Albus, quickly looking away. "Oh, no one. Nothing."

But his glance away wasn't fast enough. Lily turned around and zoned in on Albus's target. "Maddy? Why are you looking at Mad-" Then Lily turned back to Albus and got a devious grin on her face.

_I don't like that smile._

"Hey Maddy!" Lily suddenly called out, waving her hands.

Albus panicked. "What are you doing?"

"I'm inviting Maddy to come and sit with us." said Lily innocently. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Albus inhaled sharply, clearly displaying his annoyance through his green eyes. "No. I guess not."

REGGIE

"Miss me?" said Lorrie. "You know you could have just written it on the parchment, not dragged me to the corner."

Reggie's face hardened at the mention of the parchment she had stuffed at the bottom of her trunk. "It's you. I can't believe it's you."

All Reggie could do was get herself out of there as soon as possible but the necessity of manners made her speak. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"Not meaning to interrupt," Lorrie started, trampling over Reggie's words.

_Then don't interrupt me._ Reggie thought, her eyebrows crinkling.

"But would you wanna go to Hogsmead with some friends and me?" Lorcan finished.

"Today?" Reggie replied dumbly, so taken aback by this invitation that she couldn't think straight. She had never been to Hogsmead but had overheard about the town's splendidness.

"It's a Hogsmead weekend."

"Uh..." Reggie stalled. She couldn't go. There was no way. She would never be allowed to be around that many people, in public, unsupervised. "I'm not allowed to go to Hogsmead."

Lorcan cocked his head. "Your parents never signed the form?"

As far as she knew, Reggie had never even been given a form for her parents sign, as she was an orphan. "They never go around to it." said Reggie slyly, knowing this conversation was getting into dangerous territory.

"That's strange. Why not?" asked Lorrie.

The insensitivity of this question, this prying, snapped Reggie. "Because I don't have parents. Or at least I don't know who they are."

There. The secret was out—or one was. Regina Black had no family and now two students at Hogwarts knew. Reggie could feel her chest rise and fall heavily with each breath as she waited for the cliché "I'm sorry".

"Well, do you want to go to Hogsmead?"

Reggie's eyebrows shot up in shock. _Did he not just hear me? I can't go._. And then the anger came. Her emotions were bubbling in her stomach and before she realized it, her voice had risen dangerously high. "I just told you I can't go. Are you making fun of me?"

"No!" Lorcan defended. "I'm not making fun of you. I want to know if you _want_ to go?"

Reggie was flabbergasted. This conversation-this boy, rather-was the most stubborn, ridiculous, absurd...thing that Reggie had encountered! And she spent her summers at St. Mungos!

So Reggie groped for words. "It's not a matter if I want to, cause, yeah, I want to. It's—"

But Lorcan interrupted again. "Then it's settled. You'll go with my friends and me."

"How?" asked Reggie incredulously.

"Trust me."

Wrong answer. Reggie realized she was letting herself slip again and this couldn't happen. She hardened her eyes again. "Yeah. I don't do that. But thanks for the offer."

Reggie began to walk past him, out of the corner, when she felt resistance on her wrist. "What the—?" Reggie looked down to see Lorcan had a hold of her and she froze. It seemed as though her anger disappeared with his touch. She looked up, her eyes wide, curious if he had performed some spell on her.

But Lorcan simply said, "Make an exception. Please?"

Their eyes met and Reggie crumbled inside. His blue eyes glowed, determination fueling his insides. For the second time in two days, Reggie's heart fought to break from her chest but this time, he was touching her, far beyond just seeing her. Her sense put up one last resistance, reminding Reggie that if she wasn't careful, she could be locked up, gone, never to see those blue eyes again.

"You don't understand." She whispered, pleading. "I want to. But I can't risk it."

Lorcan opened his mouth to say something but a new voice spoke. "There you are!"

Reggie whirled around, so she was behind Lorcan, him protecting her from whoever had found her. But the voice belonged to a boy that Reggie didn't recognize, expect that he looked uncannily similar to the boy still holding her wrist. A girl with brown, bushy hair and a fair complexion was next to him.

"Oh hey," exclaimed the boy, seeing Reggie. "Who's this?"

"She's my friend." answered Lorcan.

_Friend?_

"She's my friend, Reggie. Reggie this is my brother Lysander, people say we look alike but I don't really see it. And this is Rose, Ly's girlfriend."

"Hey." Lysander lifted his chin in a sort of nod at Reggie. She didn't respond. His attention turned back to Lorcan. "So Lorrie, what's the plan for today? Front doors or Witch's Hump?"

Reggie was so confused when Lorrie said, "Definitely the hump."

Then she allowed herself to be drug to the third floor where this ugly statue of a witch resided. Reggie remembered one having to hide behind this witch to avoid a group of overly-excited Hufflepuff first-years when she first came to Hogwarts. But apparently there was something special about its hump, because when Ly waved his wand, it opened revealing a passageway. Reggie's jaw dropped. Then Lorcan, smiling at her amazement, asked, "You ready?"

"No." Reggie said honestly.

Lorcan laughed. "Trust me."

Reggie gulped, the feeling of unpreparedness overwhelming her.

ALBUS

"Actually, we can leave after breakfast and meet everyone there. I'm not actually sure where or when we're supposed to meet. We never talked about it. So, we can meet everyone there." said Maddy with a confident smile despite her lack of knowledge.

"Okay" said Albus, drawing out the word with more syllables than necessary. "I guess we can go when we finish eating?" He didn't know why that came out as a question but his voice raised an embarrassing octave. Albus glanced at his plate and continued shoving eggs into his mouth. When his cheeks were stuffed, like a chipmunk, Maddy took his hand and led him out the Great Hall.

"What the...?" Albus tried to say but she was too quick. Thoughts were flashing through his head as fast as a snitch but he couldn't sort them all out.

He was so consumed in his thoughts, he didn't realize they were already in Hogsmead. And she was still holding his hand! Albus tried to wiggle out of her grip but it was too tight. _Merlin's beard, she's strong!_ The worst part was he couldn't seem to find his voice to stop her...as scary as it was, Albus kind of liked the feeling of her hand in his.

Nope. The worst part was the people were starting to look at them. While he couldn't find his voice, Albus' ears were tuned in to the rumors floating around.

"Faith. Is Maddy dating Albus?"

_Dating?_

"Madeline dating somebody? Hell, Albus dating someone? You are funny. There is no way that is possible."

"So... If they aren't dating, then why is Maddy walking around with him and holding his hand everywhere they go?"

"What is that about?"

_I have to end this._ He thought. People were starting to notice, and Albus hated being noticed.

"Did you want to find somewhere to wait for everyone, or just go look around for them?" Maddy said innocently.

Albus finally took charge and pulled Maddy away from the carriage, out of the public eye. They found themselves in an alley behind the Hogs Head. It smelt of stale butterbeer, urine, and burnt fire whiskey.

"Let go of my hand." Albus yanked his hand out Maddy's and wiped it on his robes. "I've had enough of this."

Albus looked Maddy in the eye, warning her to stay away. Then he left her in the alley, swallowing the sadness and regret cooking in his stomach.

REGGIE

The tunnel was long. And while the others chatted, Reggie remained silent wishing she'd stayed in bed this morning. If any professor saw her, she'd be in so much trouble. Hogsmead was bustling with people and anything could happen. She could not afford another incident this year, or ever for that matter.

Rose and Lysander opened a hatch and started to climb out of tunnel so it was just Reggie and Lorcan. As she gazed into his blue eyes, glowing by the light of his wand, she thought, _I'm going to be in so much trouble._

Her worries must have been readable on her face because Lorcan said, "We won't let you get in trouble, but you shouldn't have to be caged up. Just have fun like everyone else and if you hate it, truly and utterly hate it with every fiber of your being, then I'll take you back to the castle."

With a smile and the slightest squeeze of her hand, Lorcan pulled Reggie through the hatch and into what resembled a storage room. Even from here, Reggie could smell the sweet sensation of sugar and hear the rumble of people above.

"Come on this way."

Lorcan led Reggie up the stairs and the sight took Reggie's breath away. Colors blinded her vision, popping out from every type of sweet imaginable. Students were bustling above, some biting into licorice and testing Bernie Botts Every Flavored Beans. Reggie recognized some of the sweets from when Gretchen, one the Healer's at St. Mungo's, would share a little of her lunch over the summer. There was sample of a sugar wand and just as Reggie was reaching out her hand, Lorcan pulled her through the crowd and toward the door. She couldn't seem to find her voice to say, "I want to stay." but reason caught up with her. Lorcan probably had the right idea. A crowd like this wasn't good for Reggie—not that he knew that, but Reggie convinced herself that was the reason.

When they migrated to the door, Lorcan called out, "Hey guys is it clear?"

Suddenly, Reggie saw the brown-hair girl from the other day. She seemed to know Lorcan and his friends. "Yea it's just me. Who are you hiding from? You get detention?" She joked.

Instead of answering, Lorcan just pulled Reggie out of sweet shop and into the village. Reggie's eyes were captured by the small town with its signs and cottages. Wizards of all ages floated about shopping, laughing and talking. She almost didn't hear that the brown-haired girl was speaking to her.

"Hey I think we ran into each other one day. My name's Faith."

"Reggie."

Suddenly, Professor Vector strolled along into the post office. Reggie's body stiffened, petrified of being discovered. _That's it. I'm done for. This was such a stupid idea. How the hell did I let him talk me into this?_

But suddenly, Reggie found herself squished up against Lorcan's chest. It wasn't uncomfortable, kind of nice, safe. She burrowed her way, succumbing to the safety of his body and heard him speaking to Faith. Lorcan eventually pulled her away from him and they continued through the village. Reggie continued to stay silent, focusing on her senses and taking in all that was Hogsmead. Each time a professor passed, Reggie was once again pulled into Lorcan's arms.

As she listened to the laughter of Lorcan's friends Professor Baslin exited the Three Broomsticks. Reggie immediately buried herself into his shoulder, but as she was moving, she caught a glimpse of Professor Baslin's eyes. And they were looking directly at her.

Then a plethora of professors piled out of the pub, Lorcan pushed Reggie into an alleyway. But it was too late. Panic had already seeped into Reggie's brain. She was only vaguely aware of how close Lorcan was, his breath tickling the hair on her neck. Once they were safe, his bent his head into the crux of her neck. Reggie didn't feel safe anymore. She'd betrayed Baslin's trust and while Baslin wasn't one to yell, Reggie would not be allowed to do anything else. She couldn't be this reckless. It wasn't worth it. This boy, wasn't worth it.

. Then she heard Lorcan's voice, "I will say this Reggie, I've never had so much fun in Hogsmead with any other girl."

"This isn't fun." admitted Reggie. She took Lorcan's face in her hands and lifted him up so he was standing on his own. "Take me home."

Lorcan opened his mouth to protest but Reggie jumped over his words, "Please."

His eyes saddened. Without thinking, Reggie blurted, "This has been amazing. Really. I never thought I would ever be able to see this place but I have to go back and I don't want to but I have to and maybe someday I'll be able to tell you why because you are really nice and you smell good and I keep running into and I've never had a friend before and I like you and I'd like you to be my friend but this is breaking so many rules you have no idea and I'd leave right now if I knew the way back but—" Reggie came up for breath but before she was about to go on Lorcan laughed.

"Why are you laughing at me?" said Reggie.

"It's just, I've never heard you talk this much." He smiled. "It's refreshing."

The corner of Reggie's mouth lifted into a half-smile and she could feel her cheeks warm. Her eyes fixated on the ground bashfully when they spotted something that shouldn't have been on the ground. Maneuvering around Lorcan, Reggie bent down and picked up a wand.

"Whoa, where did you find that?" asked Lorcan, in awe.

"It was just here, on the ground." said Reggie confused.

"Well, it's not mine." said Lorcan, pulling out his from within his robes.

"I know it's not yours." Reggie replied, not looking up at him. "Yours is Cedar, twelve and a quarter inches, unicorn hair. This is larch, eleven and a half inches, phoenix tail feather."

"How did you know that?" asked Lorcan, impressed.

"I've had a knack for wands ever since I was little because I..." Reggie stopped herself. "...always thought them curious. Larch is said to instill courage, which is why it was always in high demand but it is still rather rare. While it's an attractive wood, it's tricky to use. Especially this one, paired with a phoenix feather."

"I like the color." Lorcan commented with a shrug of his shoulder.

Reggie chuckled. "Yes, kind of a warm color. But who would just leave their wand like this? How are we supposed to get it back to them?"

"Just keep it for now." suggested Lorcan. "It's been buried there for a long time, I still don't know how you saw it. We'll see if anyone at the school has lost one."

Reggie exhaled. She examined the wand and twisted it in her hand. She wiped some of the dirt off with her robes and rose to her feet. "Alright," said Reggie. "Can we head back now?"


End file.
